No. 7 Duke used a hot start from freshman Brandon Ingram and solid ball movement on offense to down Indiana 94-74 Wednesday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. With the win, the Blue Devils moved to 7-1 on the season and extended their non-conference home-win streak to 121 games.
Revisiting the Keys to the Game
Crash the boards: Duke capitalized on its size, outrebounding Indiana 38-25 with senior Amile Jefferson leading the way with 11 boards. More importantly, the Blue Devils turned their rebounds into more opportunities to score on the perimeter. Duke hauled in 19 offensive rebounds leading to 26 second-chance points. Jefferson and center Marshall Plumlee were also able to keep Indiana's duo of Troy Williams and Thomas Bryant off the glass as the two players finished with only six rebounds between them.
Attack the basket: The Blue Devils were not shy about driving into the lane, despite doing most of their damage from the perimeter. Duke scored 42 points in the paint and sliced up an Indiana defense that appeared to have issues with communication and on-ball defense. Strong drives to the basket by sophomore Grayson Allen and freshmen Luke Kennard and Derryck Thornton proved to be the difference for Duke and helped free up shooters on the perimeter.
Find the defense that works early: The Blue Devils started off hot on both ends of the floor but quickly conceded a run that put the Hoosiers up. Duke was once again plagued by an inability to defend well in transition and lost assignments in the paint, allowing uncontested cuts to the hoop. But by switching between zone and man-to-man looks on defense, the Blue Devils were able to put the clamps on Indiana's offense and open up a lead of as much as 25 points.
Three Key Plays
7:13 remaining, first half: With Duke in need of a momentum boost after battling back from a six-point deficit, Brandon Ingram provided it. Allen drove into the paint before kicking it out to a wide-open Ingram, who nailed the triple and gave the the Blue Devils a lead they would not relinquish.
0:05 remaining, first half: Allen gave Duke all the momentum going into the break with a ridiculous circus-bank shot as he appeared to be losing balance. Driving into the paint, Allen slipped between two defenders and chucked up a runner across his body that kissed off the glass to give the Blue Devils a nine-point halftime lead.
15:53 remaining, second Half: With the second half underway and the game slowly slipping away from the Hoosiers, junior Matt Jones helped the Blue Devils pull away for good. An offensive rebound by Jefferson helped free up Jones on the perimeter, who knocked down five three-pointes in the game. Duke went up 16 following the basket and forced the Hoosiers to burn a timeout following the play.
Three Key Stats
Duke finishes with 26 second-chance points: More important than the 26 points on the box score was the effect pulling down offensive rebounds had on Indiana's defense. Already struggling to defend the Blue Devil offense, every extra possession Duke got seemed to demoralize the Hoosiers a little more. Jefferson was even able to rack up eight assists kicking out to open shooters after a rebound or finding players cutting to the basket.
The Blue Devils shoot 46-percent from deep: Matt Jones, Brandon Ingram and Luke Kennard did not hesitate to let it fly from downtown, shooting 11-of-24 between them. The biggest revelation proved to be Ingram who connected on four three-pointers despite shooting just 14-of-40 in his past five games. Jones also hit five threes en route to a career-high 23 points.
Duke finishes with a 3:1 assist to turnover ratio: The Blue Devils did not beat themselves, playing a clean game and turning the ball over only six times in the contest. Duke showed development on the offensive side of the ball and it's clear that familiarity between different players is starting to form.
And the Duke game ball goes to… Brandon Ingram
After a quiet start to the season, the highly-touted freshman from Kinston, N.C. was the story of the game after scoring 18 points in the first half. Ingram finished with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting and sparked Duke’s offense on a night where it seemed to all go right for the Blue Devils. Ingram displayed his full range of tools—scoring on jumpers, contested layups and sharp rolls to the rim—and reminded the Cameron Crazies why he was a five-star recruit coming out of high school.
And the Indiana game ball goes to… Troy Williams
The junior forward led Indiana with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor and one emphatic block of Grayson Allen toward the end of the game. With the Hoosiers struggling to muster any sort of resistance to Duke's offense, Williams' performance was a bright spot as the forward came out with the type of aggression needed to win road contest against top-10 opponents.
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